Those attempting to assist someone reporting an emergency are often hampered by not knowing anything that is happening at the site of the emergency before the instant a related call is connected to the emergency center. It is a known problem that people making emergency calls are often unable to provide accurate information about the nature of the emergency. The reason that they are often unable to provide accurate information may be due to the caller being scared, incapacitated by the event that they are calling about, unable to speak without jeopardizing their safety, or the like. This tends to be problematic because, if a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) call-taker has trouble figuring out the reason for the call, the response to the emergency may be delayed or inappropriate. Regardless of whether the caller is able to provide useful information to the PSAP, it is important to note that PSAP call-takers also listen carefully to the background sounds that are transmitted by the caller's device. For example, background sounds such as gun shots, music playing, tires squealing, people arguing (including the language of the argument), children crying, and so on can help the call-taker form a rapid, accurate assessment of the emergent event. The background sounds that occur in conjunction with, or soon after, the emergent event are often the most important.
Further, a PSAP may receive many calls from callers reporting an event. Generally, the event that people are calling about happened within seconds or minutes of the call being made and the event is generally audible or visible from the point where the call or other contact is being made. Even though regulations exist compelling PSAPs to answer requests for emergency assistance very quickly (in telephony situations within a couple of rings), situations emerge that can flood a PSAP such that the caller does not reach an agent for several minutes. This situation is exacerbated by the proliferation of mobile devices where many people may be simultaneously reporting the same event, each with their own unique perspective.
As shown and described in FIG. 1, an event may occur at a time equal to T0, designated by reference character 104. For example, the event may be a car accident, a theft, a medical emergency, etc. Shortly thereafter, for example at a time equal to T+1 designated by reference character 108, a caller may initiate a communication session or a phone call to report the event. In some scenarios, the initiation of a communication session may include a caller placing a phone call to a contact center typically associated with the event or the type of the event, as a non-limiting example. For instance, if the event is a car accident, a caller may place a call to a PSAP, such as 9-1-1 in the United States. Once the caller is connected to a contact center agent, for example a PSAP call-taker, at a time equal to T+2 designated by reference character 112, the caller may provide information they have concerning the event to the call-taker, at a time equal to T+3 designated by reference character 116. In some situations, there may be a delay between the time a caller places a phone call (T+1) and a time in which the information is provided to a call-taker (T+3). Moreover, in some situations, a caller placing a phone call may not be able to provide a call-taker with any information. For example, the caller's phone may turn off, the caller may not be able to speak, and/or the caller may become incapacitated.